Electeic



(No Model.) 7 2 $heets-Sheet. 1..

LE ROY S WHITE.

APPARATUS FOR LIGHTING GAS BY ELECTRICITY.

No. 298,531. Patented May 13,1884.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Shem; 2.

LE ROY s. WHITE.

APPARATUS FOR LIGHTING GAS BY ELECTRICITY. No. 298,531.. 4 Patented May13,1884.

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N. PETERS. PlwlO-Lilhognphlr, Wnlhington, D. C.

Nrrnn Srarns ATBNT Carton.

LE ROY S. VHITE, OF XVATERBUEY, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE ELECTRICAPPLIANCE COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

APPARATUS FOR LIGHTING GAS BY ELECTRlCITY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 298,531, dated Why 13,188%.

Application filed January 4, 1884. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, Ln ROY S. WHITE, of the city of \Vaterbury, in thecounty of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new anduseful Improvement in Apparatus for Turning On, Lighting, and ShuttingOff Gas by Electricity, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates more particularly to the electric gas-burner shownand described in my Letters Patent No. 282,816, dated August 7 1883, inwhich there are combined with a gas-valve adapted to close automaticallywhen released an electro-magnet for opening the valve, and a permanentmagnet, which, by the electro-magnet, is moved so as to form of itself apositive stop or lock to hold the valve open; but some features of theinvention may be embodied in electric gas-burners in which the valve,when opened by the action of an electro-magnet, is held open by apermanent magnet, which does'not form of itself a positive stop or lock,or by other means.

The objects of my invention are to simplify the construction and mannerof assembling and connecting the several parts of the burner shown in myformer patent, to dispense with all springs for making or breakingcontact at the tip of the burner, to provide for the ready adjustment ofthe several parts on the proper action of which depends the certainty ofmaking and breaking contact, and to afford facility for taking theburner and its internal mechanism apart for repair or cleaning.

The construction and manner of combining the several parts of theapparatus whereby the advantages above referred to are secured will behereinafter fully described, and pointed in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a central verticalsection of an electric gasburner embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is anelevation of the entire burner with the exception of the base portion ofthe case. Fig. 3 is a plan of the burner. Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectionon the dotted line 00 a), Fig.- 1; and Fig. Sis a central verticalsection of the upper portion of an electric gas-burner also embodying myinvention, and hereinafter 5 o referred to.

Similar letters of reference d signate corresponding parts in all thefigures.

The case of the burner, which is of metal, consists of a cylindricportion, A, having at the top a socket or hollow projection, A, for thereception of the burner-tip, and a base portion, A", which is screwedinto or otherwise secured in the lower open end of the cylindric portionA, and is provided with an internally screw-threaded socket, A forattaching it to a gas-bracket. A packing, a, of any suit-able material,may be placed between the lower end of the portion A and the base A ,toform a gas-tight joint. Vithin the case is arranged an electro-magnet,the coil B of which is wound upon a tube, B, which is or may be ofbrass, and which is formed integral with or rigidly secured to the baseportion, A of the case. Preferably the tube B and base A will be formedof a single brass casting. The coil B is wound between heads B B", theup per head, B, being of brass and fixed upon the tube B, and the lowerhead, B, being of vulcanite or other non-conducting material. Inassembling these parts, the lower head, B is slipped upon the tube B,and the upper head, B, is securely fixed on the'upper end of the saidtube. As here shown,the head B is bored out to fit the tubeB, and isdriven or otherwise tightly fitted upon it. The lower head, B bearsagainst the upwardly projecting flange b of the base A, which is screwedinto the portion A of the case, and when the wire of the coil B is woundon the tube B it will hold the head B against said flange b. The twoterminals 0 d of the coil B are carried down through openings or notchesb in the edge of the lower head, B and through insulations b fixed inthe base A To these terminals 0 d the conductors 0* (2* are attached, asshown in Fig. 1.

C designates the core of the electro-magnet. It is provided at the upperend with a head, C, having an outwardly-projecting flange, e, and at thelower end of the core is a gas-valve, j, which closes on a valve-seat,f, in the base just above the base A the tube B is provided with one ormore apertures, which form a gasway for the passage of gas from theinterior of the tube B into the case A A, and at immediately above thevalvef, the core 0 is somewhat reduced in diameter to permit the gas topass freely upward and through the aperturesf. The notches Z/in thelower head,

B, and similar notches, Z), in the upper head, B", afford ample spacefor the passage of gas upward to the burner-tip DQ Upon the top of thehead 1:3 of the coil 13 is a permanent magnet, E, which is of U shape,and which is shown in Fig. 4-. This permanent magnet is similar to theone shown in my former patent above referred to, and its functions arethe same here as there. It rests upon the head 13 to which it is pivotedat g, and it can swing or move slightly on said pivot, as one or theother of its poles is attracted by the core U.

At one ol'thc ends of the permanent magnet E is an upward projection, h,and a downward projection, 71 which enters an elongated hole or slot, 71in the head 13 as shown in Fig. 1. The projections h h are convenientlyformed by a single pin driven through the magnet E, and projecting aboveand below it. The slot 71* in the head B" limits the play of theprojection It, and thus determines the movement or extent of oscillationof the permanent magnet E. The projection h on the permanent magnet Edoes not operate in any way on the flange 0 but when the core 0 israised the magnet E may be swung in a direction to bring the projectionIt below the head 0, and the core 0 will then be held in an elevatedposition, with the valve f open. As shown in Fig. 1., the valve f isclosed, and the whole weight of the core (J rests upon the valve-seat f,and is otherwise unsupported; hence the valve f will normally be heldtightly closed and the wasteful escape of gas will be pre vented.

From the above description it will be understood that all the internalmechanism to which I have referred is supported by the base portion A,and is not attached in any way to the cylindric portion A of the case;hence, when the conductors 0* (2* are disconnected from the terminals 0d of the coil B and the base portion A is unscrewed from the cylindricportion A of the case, the coil 13, tube 3, heads B B and core 0 willall be removed, together with the base, from the cylindric portion A.The core G and valve can then be at once taken out, or the core can beturned to grind the valvef to its seatf. \Vhen the base A and itsattached parts are removed from the portion A of the case, the operationof the electro-magnet and valvef'can be tested by holding a piece ofiron for an armature) over the core 0. j

l) designates a soft-iron armature, which is screwed into the socketA,wherein the burner tip D is placed, and which has a gasway through it.I preferably make the burner-tip D of iron, and when it is screwed downso as to make contact with the armature D it adds to the mass of thearmature, and therefore iti, and thus produce a spark.

self acts as an armature. An iron burner-tip of sufficient size andlength may form of itself an armature without the piece I), and in Fig.I have shown such a lmrner-tip, 1').

In the upper part of the arn'iature I) is a nick, '17, for the insertionof a screw-driver,by means of which the armature may be adjusted to givejust the required movement to the core 0. Such adjustment of thearmature is very desirable, because the packing a may vary in thickness,and in different burners the head of the core may not stand at exactlythe same height.

To adjust the armature D,it is screwed down until it touches the top ofthe core 0, when the core is in its lower position, the valve beingclosed, and then it is turned back one or two turns, or more, as may bedesired. The pitch of the thread on the armature being known, itsdistance from the core 0 can thus be determined and definitely fixed.

j j* designate the two contactpoints which are adjacent to theburner-tip l), and by the separation of which. the spark for lighting isproduced. The contact 7 is fixed to a post or standard, F, which issecured to the top of the case A, it being insulated therefrom, as bestshown in Fig. 1. The conductor d extends from the terminal (Z of themagnet-coil B to the post or standard F, as is also shown in Fig. 1. Themovable contact f is carried by a yoke or yoked lever, G, which ispivoted to the socket or projection A at 7:, and is so proportioned thatits weight on the side of its fulcrum opposite the contact j willpreponderate and hold the movable contact 7* normally against the fixedcontact j. In the heavier side of .the yoke or yoked lever G is an adjListing-screw, Z, and immediately below this is a headed pin or piece,at, which projects downward into the case of the burner,

and the lower end of which falls within the circumference of the flangec on the core-head O, as is shown in Fig. 1. \Vhen the parts are in theposition shown in the drawings, the screw Z should be adjusted so thatit will not quite touch the head of the pin m, and the preponderatingweight on that side of the yoke will hold the contact f" against thefixed contact When the core 0 is raised, the flange 0 strikes the pin inand raises it, thus bringing it against the screw Z, and tilting theyoke G sufficiently to break contact between f and It is desirable thatthe movement of the cont-act j should be as little as possible, and thisresult is attained by the several adj ustmeuts which I have provided.The armature I) should be adjusted to allow a movement of the core Cupward sufficient to enable the pin or projection h on the permanentmagnet E to pass under its head C. The screw Z should then be adjustedso that the pin m will not strike it and break contact between f and j,until just as the core completes its upward movement. The circuitthrough the apparatus is normally closed, and the current entering at 0*I;

passes through the coil B and .its terminal d to the conductor (2*,thence through the post or standard F, contacts 3* j, yoke G, and case AA to the gas-pipe,and thence to the ground. l/Vith the apparatus shouldbe employed a double key of ordinary construction, by which currents ofopposite polarity may be sent through the conductor 0*, and this keyshould be con nected with the opposite poles of a battery as well aswith the conductor 0* and the gas-pipe. When a current of the properpolarity is passed through the coil B, the core 0 is raised by thearmature D sufficiently to allow the projection h on permanent magnet Eto pass under the head 0, by which the valve f is held open. By itsrising the core 0 has broken contact between 3* and j, and the sparkthus produced ignites the gas. \Vhen the circuit is broken by the key,the core cannot fall, being held up by the pin it 011 the permanentmagnet E, and thus the gas-valve is held open. Then it is desired to putout the gas, a current of opposite polarity is sent through the coil B.The pole of the permanent magnet E, which was before attracted by thecore 0, is now repelled, the pin h is moved from under the head 0, andwhen the circuit is broken by the key the core 0 falls, closing thegas-va1ve f and allowing the yoke G to move to make contact between andThe use of the pivoted and gravitating yoke G to carry the movablecontact j* is very desirable, as I thus dis pense with all springs inthe circuit-breaking mechanism, and am enabled to accurately regulatethe extent of movement allowed the movable contact. Springs adjacent tothe tip of a gas-burnersoon become so softened or annealed by the heatthat they are incapable of properly performing their functions. Ifdesired, an ordinary sparkingcoil may be used to in crease the sparkproduced by breaking contact. The contact j constitutes the fixed memberof a circuit-breaking device, and the contact and yoke G constitute agravitating movable member of such device. The pin or piece m,interposed between the yoke G and the movable core 0, serves as a meansof pro ducing the circuit-breaking movement of the gravitating member.-

Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. The combination, with the burner-case having a separable base, of anelectromagnet havinga movable core, and the coil of which is attached toand has its terminals passing through said base, a circuit-breakingdevice outside of said case, and a piece interposed between said coreand circuit-breaking device passing through said case from the interiorto the exterior thereof, for producing the opera tion of saidcircuit-breaking device by the movement of said core, substantially asherein described.

2. The combination of the case A, the base A provided with a valve-seat,f, the tube B, projecting upward from said base, the core 0, arrangedwithin said tube, and having the gas-valve f at its lower end, and thecoil B, surrounding the said tube, and having its terminals 0 (Zextending through the base, substantially as herein described.

3. The combination of the case A, the base A having the screw threadedflange b and 'the valve seat f, the tube B, projecting upof the case, apin projecting downward into the case and serving by its upward movementto break the circuit, an electro-magnet arranged within the case, andhaving a movable core adapted to act upon saidpin in its risingmovement, and having its armature adjustable in said socket orprojection, substantially as herein described.

5. The combination, with the case A, provided with the socket orprojection A, of the electro-magnet having its core 0 arranged withinthe case, circuit-breaking devices on the exterior of the case, the pinm, adaptedto be acted on by said core in its upward movement, and aniron burner-tip, D, fitted in said socket or projection and acting as anarmature to the core 0, substantially as herein described.

6. The combination, with the case A, having the socket or projection A,of the coil B and core 0, arranged in said case, and the armaturecomposed of the piece D and burner-tip D, both of which are adjustablein said socket or projection, substantially as herein described.

'7. The combination, with the case of an electric gas-burner and anelectro-magnet having a movable core arranged within the same, of acircuit-breaking device consisting of a fixed member and a gravitatingmovable member, and a piece passing through the case and interposedbetween the said movable core and said gravitating member, for thepurpose of producing the circuit-breaking movement of said gravitatingmember by the movement of said core, substantially as herein described.

8. The combination, with the case of an electric gas burner and anelectro-magnet having a movable core arranged within the same, of thefixed and movable contacts jj the pivoted gravitating lever or yoke G,carrying said contact 3*, and the pin m, adapted to be operated by thesaid magnet-core to tilt the said lever or yoke and break contactbetween 3* and j, substantially as herein described.

9. The combination, with the case of an.

eleetric gas-burner and an eleetre-niagnet with a movable eere arrangedwithin the ease, of the fixed and movable contacts j 7*, the pivotedgravitating yoke 0r lever G, carrying 5 the contact 3*, and providedwith the adjusting-screw Z, and the pin an, adapted to be 0perated bysaid magnet-core to tilt said yoke 01' lever and break contact between fand j, substantially as herein described.

LE ROY S. \VII'YLE.

\Vilnesses: V

Enrrn S. Wnrrn, ALEX. C. Mm'rin.

